Scan barcode
evaria's review
3.0
I'm not finished yet but I can already say that this book is great.
At first I didn't really like the style how it is written because everything is described very well (and with really well I mean quite long). But as is went on reading I started to like the style and now I find it brilliant because so you can imagine the whole story like a film. The book isn't written as if someone just wrote down some story he/she invented but as if she first saw the whole story as a movie and then described this movie very neatly.
Paranormal things like those which are described in the book scare the hell out of me. When reading, I could feel the discomfort and fear of the characters. Except of one Agatha Christie-book, no books ever have done this to me. But, what I still have to point out, is that the book has a very slow start. I read a version which is 350 words long and the actual plot started at about page 90.
All in all the book is totally recommendable. I only give 5 stars to books which somehow change my life, that's the reason why this one did only get 4.
I have to give away one star because I wasn't able to finish the book. I had to make a break from it because I had to do a lot for school but I'm not able to finish it, I just lost interest in it. Maybe it's because I'm not that into mystery/fantasy or because it isn't really a site-turner, I don't know. Anyways, what I have read I did like.
At first I didn't really like the style how it is written because everything is described very well (and with really well I mean quite long). But as is went on reading I started to like the style and now I find it brilliant because so you can imagine the whole story like a film. The book isn't written as if someone just wrote down some story he/she invented but as if she first saw the whole story as a movie and then described this movie very neatly.
Paranormal things like those which are described in the book scare the hell out of me. When reading, I could feel the discomfort and fear of the characters. Except of one Agatha Christie-book, no books ever have done this to me. But, what I still have to point out, is that the book has a very slow start. I read a version which is 350 words long and the actual plot started at about page 90.
All in all the book is totally recommendable. I only give 5 stars to books which somehow change my life, that's the reason why this one did only get 4.
I have to give away one star because I wasn't able to finish the book. I had to make a break from it because I had to do a lot for school but I'm not able to finish it, I just lost interest in it. Maybe it's because I'm not that into mystery/fantasy or because it isn't really a site-turner, I don't know. Anyways, what I have read I did like.
melaniebopp's review
4.0
While the first part of the book was a little slow (there was a lot of effort put into setting up the scene and the characters, which bogged down the story a bit), once we get more action, the story practically flies. I am putting my synopsis under a spoiler alert, since it does give away a bit more of the story than I would like...
Mary is a believable teenager, with her first major crush and her best friend. Andy seems a fairly typical good guy, who loves his cousin and grandmother, and has some unresolved issues (don't we all...). The grandmother, especially in the chapters from her point of view (there were two or three) seems a bit cuckoo, but desperately loves her grandbabies.
The supernatural aspects of the story were wonderfully creepy, and very real. While evil does influence those around it, the actions themselves are of the individuals, things that happen everyday already - the mother who kills her child, the successful man who hurts his family. These are real occurrences, but here seen through a dark tilt.
Overall, the characters were believable and the story was interesting.
Spoiler
Mary, raised by her grandmother, and her cousin Andy are left in a house filled with evil after their grandmother collapses and is taken to the hospital. Evil is invading Mary's life - she has awoken the shadows of the world, and now she must beat them back.Mary is a believable teenager, with her first major crush and her best friend. Andy seems a fairly typical good guy, who loves his cousin and grandmother, and has some unresolved issues (don't we all...). The grandmother, especially in the chapters from her point of view (there were two or three) seems a bit cuckoo, but desperately loves her grandbabies.
The supernatural aspects of the story were wonderfully creepy, and very real. While evil does influence those around it, the actions themselves are of the individuals, things that happen everyday already - the mother who kills her child, the successful man who hurts his family. These are real occurrences, but here seen through a dark tilt.
Overall, the characters were believable and the story was interesting.
jalynb's review
1.0
When I read what this book was about I was excited to read it, but my excitement didn't last very far into the book. The beginning with Emily and her mom was good. I was intrigued about what was in the basement and how it would play a part in the rest of the book, but you never really find out what was behind all of it. You get a general description of what it is and the book is set up for a possible sequel, but I feel like I know the book less now that I've read it than I did after reading what it was about. It was really confusing and I didn't feel a connection with any of the characters. The writing felt juvenile to me and the book didn't flow well. There were a few scenes scattered thoroughout the book that were good, but it wasn't enough for me.
*SPOILER ALERT* I can't figure out what happened at the end. Did she defeat him? Did her ancestors? Did she somehow manage to just get away? I have no idea. I really wanted to love this book and the idea was good, but in the end, all I was left with was a lot of confusion.
*SPOILER ALERT* I can't figure out what happened at the end. Did she defeat him? Did her ancestors? Did she somehow manage to just get away? I have no idea. I really wanted to love this book and the idea was good, but in the end, all I was left with was a lot of confusion.
More...